Motorola has revealed smartphone sales have already dipped in anticipation of the Verizon iPhone 4, with the company’s Q4 performance impacted even before the official announcement had been made. According to CEO Sanjay Jha,”since the announcement of the iPhone, we have seen a little slow down in our sell through of devices at Verizon. There was anticipation of devices coming to Verizon even prior the announcement of the iPhone.” However, Jha also suggests that expectations around a flagship Motorola device in Q1 2011 also impacted the previous quarter’s sales.
Those new smartphones use Verizon’s high-speed 4G LTE network, and were well leaked in the run up to CES 2011 where they made their official debut. Smartphone shipments in Q4 reached 4.9m, lower than predictions of 5.2m, and Motorola has already warned investors to expect a net loss of $26-62m this quarter.
Still, Jha is confident that even with the iPhone 4 competing for Verizon customer mind-share, Motorola still stands a chance. “When customers go into the Verizon stores now, they’ll be offered choices” he suggests, “and time will tell what percentage of sales goes to which brand.”
Things are looking rosy indeed for Verizon Wireless. They’ve announced their expectation that the iPhone will lead to between 5-8% growth in earnings per share. Analysts predict 11 million sales in 2011. The iPhone boom will spur Verizon to double the percentage of their customers with smartphones. The carrier could be above 50% by the end of the year.
Since customers with smartphones spend more on data usage, this is more good news for Big Red’s bottom line. The company forecasts revenue growth of between 4 and 8%, with analyst predictions dogging behind at 2%.
It’s easy to get lost in all that PR pomp. Verizon’s Q4 was far from bad, but they did miss their forecasts. Q4 revenue for the company was down 2.6% from 2009. This is in spite- or perhaps because of- the 900,000 subscriber increase Big Red saw this quarter. 3/4ths of those new subscribers bought smartphones. And smartphone customers come with subsidies attached.
That has a considerable downward pull on a companies earnings. Verizon doesn’t seem worried about the same thing happening with the iPhone. Maybe they should be.
The white iPhone 4 failed to arrive earlier today, but the much-anticipated smartphone variant could well be just around the corner according to a new report. Macotakara claims that Apple’s frustration with the white iPhone was over an unreliable painting process which led to excessive numbers of defective models; however, a new system supposedly promises to turn that around.
Exact details on the system are unknown, beyond it apparently being the handiwork of a Japanese company which has created a “miracle painting material” the thickness of which can be more precisely controlled. Exactly when we might see the white iPhone 4 is still unclear, but it looks like Apple hasn’t abandoned the concept altogether.
How much would you pay for an iPhone remote control? Peel is hoping the answer extends to at least a few hundred; the company is following the unusual approach of putting its first ZigBee-based universal remote systems up for silent auction, testing the water to see just what users reckon it’s all worth.
The Peel system uses an IR dongle – called the Peel Fruit – which hooks up via a ZigBee connection to an ethernet dongle – called the Peel Cable – on your router, and controls your A/V equipment via a custom app on the iPhone. By using the network rather than some sort of plug-in wireless dongle that attaches to the smartphone itself, you can be in a different room and still control your kit.
It’s certainly more complex than rival systems from Griffin and Gear4, but the question remains whether would-be users will pay a premium for Peel’s setup. The company hints that comparable universal remotes range from $250 to $350, though the Griffin and Gear4 systems will be $80 and $100 respectively. The auction process ends January 31, with regular ordering apparently beginning sometime shortly after that.
We’re not quite at the February 3 sales date for the Verizon iPhone 4, but the purchase pages for the CDMA smartphone have already gone live on Apple’s site. Seemingly activated in the update earlier today, the $199 16GB and $299 32GB purchase links walk you through either setting up a new Verizon account or adding the iPhone 4 to an existing account, together with confirming the various voice, data and messaging plan options.
Three individual voice plans are available, priced at $39.99/mo for 450 minutes, $59.99/mo for 900 minutes (and unlimited calls to five people on any network), or $69.99/mo for nationwide unlimited calls. There are two data plan options, $29.99/mo for unlimited data or $49.99/mo for adding in 2GB of mobile hotspot data; each additional GB of mobile hotspot data is charged at $20.
Finally there are four messaging plans, either pay-per-use (at 20 cents a text or 25 cents for a picture/video message), 250 messages for $5/mo, 500 for $10/mo (and unlimited to other Verizon customers), or completely unlimited for $20. There’s also the option to transfer your number. We haven’t been able to try to actually complete an order yet, but we’re assuming that stage won’t go live until early February.
The iPhone 4 will hit Verizon before you know it and there will be a bunch of new users out shopping for cases and accessories for the devices. Accessory makers are probably giddy with anticipation since many of the cases on the market for the AT&T iPhone won’t fit the Verizon offering.
If you want a Bluetooth headset and a case the cool MoGo Talk XD2 (PDF) from ID8 Mobile might be perfect for you. This is a case that offers protection for both of the iPhone 4 smartphones on the market and has a hump on its back that hides a Bluetooth headset. The headset folds flat to only 5mm thick when not in use and it charges while docked on the back of the case.
Looking at the side of the case, the volume buttons are covered by what appears to be silicone. I wonder how the case works with both smartphones. The universal cases I have seen have a large opening that will work for either device. The XD2 will land on February 3 and will cost $99.99.
iOS 4.3 hasn’t been publicly released yet, but Apple is already approving apps with direct support for the updated version in the App Store. TIPB spotted StreamToMe v3.5 [iTunes link] had been approved, complete with “support for AirPlay video (requires iOS 4.3), seemingly a sign that Apple is looking to push out the new iOS version sooner rather than later.
Whereas normally beta releases for developers are distributed on a two-weekly basis, we’ve seen just one week between beta one and beta two with iOS 4.3. Assuming no significant bugs are spotted, that might mean that the new version could be pushed out before the end of the month.
Excitement and disappointment this morning, as an unexpected update to the Apple store that was rumored to bring the white iPhone 4 turned out to be a more aesthetic change to the site itself. What were suggested to be white iPhone SKUs – MC604X/A (16GB) and MC606X/A (32GB) – on Twitter failed to materialise in the store itself.
The Apple navigation bar at the top of the page has now gone glossy, though the page content for the various sections on iPhone, Mac, iPod, iPad, etc. has remained the same. iPhone options remain the black iPhone 3GS or black iPhone 4, with no sign of the long-delayed white version.
The smartphone had recently been spotted cropping up in AT&T’s systems, a move which some predicted might mean a retail release was imminent. Seems like we’ll still have to wait for that to happen, however.
More news begins to get confirmed as Verizon’s iPhone 4 release date inches closer. Earlier in the day Verizon Wireless’ Executive Director of Corporate Communications Brenda Raney confirmed that Verizon’s iPhone hotspot ability will cost customers an additional $20 on top of their monthly data plans.
The hotspot feature will allow the user to use the device as a 3G wireless hotspot for up to five devices. The Verizon specific ability for the phone has it’s own 2GB monthly plan for the hotspotting separate from the phone’s own data plan. The plan covers all devices connected to the iPhone using it as a 3G connection. Being a premium service you can bet it will cost you if you go over the limit. Each additional gigabyte over the allotted amount will cost you $20 per gigabyte. Yup, be careful.
The hotspot’s monthly data pool plan is the same as the rest of Verizon’s phone arsenal. Currently, AT&T’s iPhone does not have the ability to be a hotspot for any of it’s phones. Sprint and Verizon do have a limited number of phones that can. There are reports that the newest version of iOS 4.3 may allow it, and it will be up to the carrier’s discretion whether or not to activate it.
Not exactly a huge surprise here, but it looks like Verizon will be doing everything it can to pair folks with a new iPhone 4 when it launches on the carrier next month, even if they’ve just purchased a new phone on Verizon or another carrier. During an investor meeting this week, Verizon CFO Fran Shammo revealed that the carrier will be using its existing trade-in program (which launched in October) to lure would-be customers, with a Verizon rep further detailing that it will be “more actively” promoting the plan in the lead up to the iPhone 4 launch — under that program, a 16GB iPhone 4 from AT&T will net you a $212 credit. In addition to that, Verizon is also rolling out a new “Special Upgrade Offer” that will let existing customers trade in a phone they’ve recently purchased for a Visa debit card ($200 for a smartphone trade-in, or $75 for a feature phone). Only those that have purchased a phone between November 26th, 2010 and January 10th, 2011 will be eligible, though, and you won’t exactly get that cash right away — you’ll first have to first buy and activate your iPhone 4 at the full retail price, send in your trade-in phone within 30 days of activation, and then wait four to six weeks to receive the debit card.
Motorola has revealed smartphone sales have already dipped in anticipation of the Verizon iPhone 4, with the company’s Q4 performance impacted even before the official announcement had been made. According to CEO Sanjay Jha,”since the announcement of the iPhone, we have seen a little slow down in our sell through of devices at Verizon. There was anticipation of devices coming to Verizon even prior the announcement of the iPhone.” However, Jha also suggests that expectations around a flagship Motorola device in Q1 2011 also impacted the previous quarter’s sales.
More news begins to get confirmed as Verizon’s iPhone 4 release date inches closer. Earlier in the day Verizon Wireless’ Executive Director of Corporate Communications Brenda Raney confirmed that Verizon’s iPhone hotspot ability will cost customers an additional $20 on top of their monthly data plans.
